A's new millionaires keep it in perspective By: Frank Blackman

Published 4:00 am, Friday, February 28, 1997

PHOENIX - Every year, baseball produces more and more lottery winners, players who become instant multimillionaires. This season the A's have two, Geronimo Berroa and Scott Brosius.

Both men raised their game to a higher level in 1996. Berroa hit 36 home runs and drove in 106 runs. Brosius batted .304 and was outstanding at third base.

In a sport where even a mediocre season is rewarded with a pay raise, a great one is the equivalent of hitting the jackpot. Berroa will make $3.3 million in 1997. Brosius' paychecks will total $2.25 million.

So what's it like waking up one morning filthy rich?

"I don't know, I don't have any of the money yet," Berroa said, smiling.

"As a player, you hope and dream this would happen," Brosius said. "But I honestly try to stay back from it a little bit. It's numbers in my (bank) account, and they're great numbers to have. But it doesn't change the way I think or the way I feel."

Yeah, yeah. Come on, what's it like to drive past a Ferrari dealership and know there isn't one of those suckers you couldn't buy?

"My goal right now is not to blow the opportunity baseball has provided me," Brosius said. "Baseball has given me the opportunity to take care of my children's college tuition. This has enabled me to set myself up for the rest of my life. When I'm done playing ball, I can choose what I want to do."

Brosius just isn't the kind of guy to go on a serious spending spree. He's from a small town in Oregon where the good life is a big-screen TV in the family room. Even before he finally cashed in the winning ticket, he still was earning a salary most folks can only dream about. But he never showed up in the clubhouse modeling designer suits. That's not his style.

Berroa says he has no intention of indulging himself either once he starts collecting those huge paychecks.

"I don't intend to change. I'm going to be the same person," he said.

Maybe that's because Berroa isn't a kid, someone who still thinks life owes him a fortune, and he should have as much fun as possible spending it. He'll be 32 in March and had to knock around the game for years before finally striking it rich.

"I played for the Marlins, I played for Atlanta, I played for Cincinnati," he said. "I'd think about quitting. Because I'd think, "What do I have to do to be a major-league baseball player?' I'd see some guys, and they'd be doing nothing."

Berroa finally got his opportunity three years ago, acquired in the offseason by Oakland. He was a sensation that spring, forcing then-manager Tony La Russa to make room for him on the team. And he's only gotten better each year.

Brosius also had to earn his fortune. During the La Russa regime, he was considered a valuable spare part, someone who could fill in at third, first, second and all three outfield positions. But whenever he was given an opportunity to become a regular, he either struggled offensively or got hurt.

Last year, however, La Russa was gone, and new manager Art Howe gave Brosius the third base job in spring training. Then Brosius did the rest.

The irony is that Brosius and Berroa may have priced themselves out of Oakland. Management decided it couldn't afford to lose them this season, which is why it offered arbitration to both. But their one-year contracts expire at the end of the season, and it conceivably will take even more money to re-sign them.

The A's keep insisting they are a small market team that must keep costs down. And cheaper replacements for both could be ready next year. Third baseman Scott Spezio probably is ready right now, but it's likely he'll spend another season playing at Triple-A Edmonton. And former No. 1 pick Ben Grieve eventually will be the team's right fielder, maybe as soon as 1998.

But that's next year. And right now, Brosius and Berroa are filthy rich.

So Geronimo, how about a $50,000 loan?

"You've got to talk to my agent," he said, grinning.&lt;

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